2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECTS Plus 2014 NASL Depth Chart & Statistics Produced by: Aaron Nielsen For more Information visit twitter account @ENBSports

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

Introduction The third part of my 2014 North American Soccer Prospect Handbooks after producing the 2015 Top 100 MLS Homegrown Signings and Draft Prospects. The 2014 Top 50 USL Pro Prospects including top 25 players currently under MLS contracts in USL Pro. This handbook covers the 2014 NASL Top 25 prospects who I feel are the most ready for MLS. I covered the second and third tier of American soccer since 2004 but have had a relationship with the league 10 years earlier. I also wrote articles on the top via RedNationOnline.ca and included some relating to NASL within this handbook. I also added the final statistics and depth chart for all 2014 NASL clubs to further evaluate the players in my list as well as giving a complete perspective of the league. Description of Statistics Gp: Sb: Min: Gl: Hd: Fk: In: Out: Pn: Pna: As: Dd: Sht: Gw: Yc: Rc:

Games Played Used as Substitute Minutes Played (Based on 90 minute game) Goal Scored Headed Goals Direct Free Kick Goals Goal from inside the 18 yard box Goal from outside the 18 yard box Penalty Goals Scored Penalty Attempted Assists (Direct, max one per goal, no assist awarded on Pn or FK) Dead Ball Assists (Free Kicks, Corners, Throw-Ins) Shots on Goal (Shots on Target) Game Winning Goals Yellow Cards Red Cards

Wn: Dr: Ls: Ga: Gavg: Cs: Sht: Spct: S/90: *:

Wins Draws (Ties) Losses Goals Allowed Goals against Average per 90 minute of play Clean Sheets (Shutouts) Shots faced (Shots on Target) Save Percentage Saves per 90 minutes of play Statistics are currently not available

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

TOP 25 PROSPECTS MIGUEL IBARRA, Minnesota United

#1

Date of Birth: March 15 1990 Height: 5’7 Weight: 150 Position: Midfielder Place of Birth: Lancaster CA Nationality: United States Notes:

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Quick player who is active both with and without the ball Played College soccer with UC Irvine – 43 games/10 goals Played PDL soccer with Lancaster – 43 Games/12 Goals

MARK ANDERSON, Fort Lauderdale Date of Birth: February 13 1989 Height: 5’10 Weight: 175 Position: Attacking Midfielder Place of Birth: Durham Nationality: England Notes:

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Bullet for a Shot with an ability to create goals on his own Played College soccer with Barry – 74 games/59 goals Played youth soccer with Sunderland (Eng)

#2

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

CHRISTIAN RAMIREZ, Minnesota United

#3

Date of Birth: April 4, 1991 Height: 6’2 Weight: 188 Position: Forward Place of Birth: Santa Ana CA Nationality: United States Notes:

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Good Size and Ability to create positions for himself Played College soccer with UC Santa Barbara – 25 games/1 goal Played PDL soccer with Orange County – 27 games/4 goal

DANIEL BARRERA, Carolina Date of Birth: January 8, 1990 Height: 5’7 Weight: 145 Position: Midfielder Place of Birth: Bogota Nationality: Colombia Notes:

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Aggressive midfielder with an ability to change the game Played College with UC Santa Barbara – 66 games/10 goals Played PDL Soccer with Ventura Fusion – 45 games/13 goals

#4

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

FAFA PICAULT, Fort Lauderdale

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

#5

Date of Birth: February 23, 1991 Height: 5’9 Weight: 155 Position: Forward Place of Birth: New York NY Nationality: United States Notes:

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Good Speed & Ball Control Was called up by United States Under 20 National Team Played Youth Soccer with Cagliari (ITA)

WALTER RESTREPO, San Antonio Date of Birth: June 21, 1988 Height: 5’9 Weight: 170 Position: Midfielder Place of Birth: San Diego CA Nationality: United States Notes:

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Good Technical Ability U17 national team experience with Columbia Played Youth Soccer with Tolima (Col)

#6

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

JUNIOR SANDOVAL, Atlanta

#7

Date of Birth: October 13, 1990 Height: 5’11 Weight: 170 Position: Midfielder Place of Birth: Quimistan Nationality: Honduras Notes:

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Good ball handler with ability to shoot on the run Played College with Georgia Perimeter (NJCAA) – 12 games/9 goals Played for Pro Soccer with Marathon (Hun) – 13 Games/1 goal

CESAR ELIZONDO, San Antonio Date of Birth: February 10, 1988 Height: 5’8 Weight: 160 Position: Midfielder/Winger Place of Birth: Perez Zeledon Nationality: Costa Rica Notes:

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Active player with good technical skills Costa Rica National Team – 10 games/0 goal Played Club Soccer with Saprissa

#8

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

MADS STOKKELIEN, New York Cosmos

#9

Date of Birth: March 15 1990 Height: 6’2 Weight: 180 Position: Forward Place of Birth: Kristiansand Nationality: Norway Notes:

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Uses Size & Strength Well

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Played Youth Soccer with IK Start

KEVIN VENEGAS, Minnesota United Date of Birth: July 29 1989 Height: 5’10 Weight: 178 Position: Fullback Place of Birth: Norwalk CA Nationality: United States Notes:

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Good running flanks and crossing Played College with CSU Fullerton – 74 games/16 goals Played PDL Soccer with Orange County – 14 games/4 goals

#10

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

ENZO MARTINEZ, Carolina

#11

Date of Birth: September, 29 1990 Height: 5’7 Weight: 150 Position: Midfielder Place of Birth: Montevideo Nationality: Uruguay Notes:

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Active Midfielder with ability to provide the key pass Drafted by Real Salt Lake 17th overall in 2012 MLS Superdraft Played College with North Carolina – 72 games/22 goals

JUSTIN DAVIS, Minnesota United Date of Birth: July 23 1989 Height: 6’0 Weight: 170 Position: Fullback Place of Birth: Litchfield Park, AZ Nationality: United States Notes:

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Strong Soccer IQ Played College for New Mexico – 77 games/20 goals Played PDL for Des Moines – 11 games/3 goals

#12

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

LANCE LAING, FC Edmonton

#13

Date of Birth: February 28, 1988 Height: 6’0 Weight: 175 Position: Left Fullback/Midfielder Place of Birth: Trelawny Parish Nationality: Jamaica Notes:

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Play all three wide positions with offensive potential Jamaica National Team Player – 4 games/0 goals Played club soccer with Harbour View (Jam)

ERICK NORALES, Indy Eleven Date of Birth: February 11 1985 Height: 5’11 Weight: 170 Position: Defender Place of Birth: La Celba Nationality: Honduras Notes:

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Experience defender who can play central or flanks Honduras National Team Player – 28 games /2 goals Played over 250 pro games with Honduras with Vida & Marathon

#14

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

JIMMY MAURER, New York Cosmos

#15

Date of Birth: October 14, 1988 Height: 6’2 Weight: 180 Position: Goalkeeper Place of Birth: Lawrenceville GA Nationality: United States Notes:

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Quality Keeper who controls play Played College with South Carolina – 78 games/85 GA Played PDL with Chicago Fire – 14 games/8 GA

JAIME CHAVEZ, Atlanta Date of Birth: July 17 1987 Height: 6’1 Weight: 180 Position: Forward Place of Birth: Industry CA Nationality: United States Notes:

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Gives defenders trouble off and on the ball Played PDL for Hollywood & Los Angeles – 42 games/30 goals Played Youth Soccer with Chivas USA Academy

#16

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

JAIME FRIAS, Indy Eleven

#17

Date of Birth: February 18, 1993 Height: 6’ Weight: 174 Position: Defender Place of Birth: Los Angeles CA Nationality: United States Notes:

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Technical Defender Rights owned by Guadalajara Chivas (Mex) Played youth soccer with Guadalajara Chivas (Mex)

DREW BECKIE, Ottawa Date of Birth: June 9, 1990 Height: 6’2 Weight: 190 Position: Central Defender Place of Birth: Regina SK Nationality: Canada Notes:

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Brave defender with good feet. Played College with Denver – 69 games/7 goals Played PDL with Colorado and Ottawa – 31 games/12 goals

#18

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

SHAWN CHIN, Fort Lauderdale

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

#19

Date of Birth: May 11, 1989 Height: 5’10 Weight: 160 Position: Midfielder Place of Birth: Miami FA Nationality: United States Notes:

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Active Midfielder who can play the wing Invited to United States U20 Development Camp Played College for South Florida – 32 games/6 goals

OLIVER MINATEL, Ottawa Date of Birth: August 29, 1992 Height: 5’8 Weight: 160 Position: Forward Place of Birth: Campinas Nationality: Brazil Notes:

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Able to find space in Penalty Box Played Academy Soccer with Paulinia (Bra) Played Youth Soccer with PSV Eindhoven (Hol)

#20

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

PABLO CRUZ, Atlanta

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

#21

Date of Birth: December 30 1991 Height: 5’7 Weight: 150 Position: Winger Place of Birth: Pasadena CA Nationality: United States Notes:

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Steady midfielder with an ability to cross the ball U17 national team experience Played Club Soccer with Cal FC (USASA)

TOMI AMEOBI, FC Edmonton Date of Birth: August 16, 1988 Height: 6’3 Weight: 175 Position: Forward Place of Birth: Newcastle-Upon-Tyne Nationality: England Notes:

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Good Speed with an ability to dribble Played Pro Soccer in Iceland with BI – 39 games/16 goals Played Youth Soccer with Leeds United (Eng)

#22

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

RICHARD MENJIVAR, San Antonio

#23

Date of Birth: October 31, 1990 Height: 5’8 Weight: 155 Position: Holding Midfielder Place of Birth: Panama City CA Nationality: United States Notes:

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Good Engine able to hassle opponents on the ball El Salvador International – 18 games/1 goal Played college for CSU Bakersfield – 38 games/7 goals

A.J. CORRADO, Indy Eleven Date of Birth: January 8, 1992 Height: 5’10 Weight: 165 Position: Midfielder Place of Birth: Zionsville IN Nationality: United States Notes:

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Wide Midfielder with a quality cross Played College with Indiana – 68 games/6 goals Was drafted by San Jose, 47th overall in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft

#24

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

BLAKE WAGNER, Tampa Bay

#25

Date of Birth: January 29, 1988 Height: 5’10 Weight: 175 Position: Holding Midfielder/Defender Place of Birth: Atlanta GA Nationality: United States Notes:

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Steady player with good soccer IQ Played International Soccer with United States U17, U20 & U23 Was part of United States Olympic Development Program

NASL ALUMNI IN 2014 Major League Soccer Jeff Anttinela (Tampa Bay) – Real Salt Lake – 10 Gp, 14 Ga, 3 Cs, 46 Saves Mark Bloom (Atlanta) – Toronto FC - 26 Gp, 2285 Min, 1 As, 3 Sht, 2 Yc Chris Klute (Atlanta) – Colorado Rapids – 25 Gp, 2132 Min, 1 As, 2 Sht, 5 Yc, 1 Rc Brad Knighton (Carolina) – New England Revolution – 2 Gp, 6 Ga, 6 Saves Luke Mulholland (Tampa Bay) – Real Salt Lake – 31 Gp, 1978 Min, 6 Gl, 7 As, 13 Sht, 4 Yc, 1 Rc Joseph Nasco (Atlanta) – Colorado Rapids – 4 Gp, 7 Ga, 12 Saves Dan Paladini (Carolina) – Columbus Crew – 4 Gp, 221 Min, 1 Sht, 1 Yc Kyle Raynish (New York) – Chicago Fire – 1 Gp, 90 Min, 2 Ga, 2 Saves Matt Watson (Carolina) – Chicago Fire – 27 Gp, 2036 Min, 1 Gl, 1 As, 8 Sht, 4 Yc

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

Players Overlooked by the MLS Article on RedNationOnline – 02/06/2014 A year ago, after the 2013 MLS SuperDraft, I published two articles: my Top 10 USL Pro and Top 10 NASL prospects. In analytics/scouting work I actually do these lists when the season is in progress, but last year I wrote the articles at this time of the year as I was worried about the Canadian MLS teams' depth going into the 2013 season and thought these players could help. Shortly after, Toronto FC had just signed Gale Agbossoumonde, and Vancouver signed Corey Hertzog. Meanwhile, most of the players I listed remain playing in either USL Pro or NASL in 2013, including my number one prospect in USL Pro Kevin Molino, who was recently signed by Orlando as their first ever MLS signing. I also talked about the advantage of MLS clubs loaning younger players and where I see American soccer going. One idea being that leagues such as USL Pro not being a lower league to MLS, but a minor league, and with the LA Galaxy II in USL Pro, this season this is becoming more of a reality. I'm still not convinced if MLS are willing to use this for their advantage or is it just for show to compensate for the failed idea of a reserve league, which was another idea I predicted was never going to happen. With this year’s list I've decided to include the top 20 players in my analysis who have been missed by MLS and include players who have been completely overlooked. Even though some might have been drafted, none played any MLS games. Furthermore, all of these players are 26 years of age or under and had successful 2013 campaigns, but despite this upside still none have been even offered a MLS contract this off-season. Mark Anderson, Midfielder, Fort Lauderdale (NASL) Mark Anderson was my top prospect in the NASL during the 2012 season as the British native showed the same success he had in college by scoring exceptional goals, especially from distance. Anderson had some issues with injuries in 2013, playing only 12 games but scored 2 goals from distance including a direct free kick, and had 11 shots on target. Still 24 years of age, Anderson grew up in the Sunderland academy and has comparison with Scottish EPL player Charlie Adam for an ability to create offense from the wing, midfield or as a secondary striker. Daniel Barrera, Midfielder, San Antonio/Carolina (NASL) Daniel Barrera is a 24 year old Colombian-born midfielder with American citizenship. Despite playing for the United States 2007 Pan American Games side, and trials with Derby County and playing professionally in Serbia, he has never been offered a tryout from an MLS club. After playing 2012 with Cal FC, Eric Wynalda brought him to the NASL Atlanta Silverbacks. Berrera quarterbacked the Silverbacks offense tallying four goals and seven assists from an attacking midfield positions and was responsible for set plays that lead to a direct free kick goal and two dead ball assists. After not getting offers from the MLS, Barrera will join San Antonio for the 2014 MLS season. Miguel Ibarra, Midfielder, Minnesota (NASL) During his college career at UC Irvine, Miguel Ibarra’s performances and accolades made him a prospect going into the 2012 draft. After further analysis, I did have some concerns and still do, as Ibarra is small at 5'7 and much of his offense comes from delivering free kicks, but he has impressed me with the impact he has made with Minnesota. Ibarra has played 49 games scoring 4 goals and 8 assists in the NASL, has adapted well with the travel and physical play of the pro game, and hopefully is an example of how lower league experience can help in player evaluation. Richard Menjivar, Midfielder, San Antonio (NASL) This is the third ex-CAL FC and Atlanta Silverbacks player in my list, which shows how much lost talent there is in the American system and how well players can make a jump despite myths regarding quality of league. Menjivar is 23 years old, American born, but plays for the El Salvador national team and already has 10 caps. Menjavar is on the small side and depends on his skills with the ball at his feet. Menjivar will also be joining San Antonio, which might give the Scorpions an MLS quality midfield, especially in terms of potential and should be fun to watch.

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

Walter Restrepo, Midfielder, San Antonio (NASL) Of all the players in my 2013 NASL/USL pro prospects, the only true disappointment might have been Walter Restrepo. Others might have had less of an impact in 2013, but it was part of an MLS club (Hertzog/Agbossemonde for example), while Restrepo returned to the NASL in 2013. In his defense, Restrepo was returning from an ACL injury and he was more effective towards the end of the season, being a greater offensive threat especially with Mark Anderson in the line-up and Walter on the right. The 25 year old has joined San Antonio in 2014 in a bizarre story where Fort Lauderdale traded Restrepo for club expenses during their away match to San Antonio later this season. Brian Shriver, Forward, Carolina (NASL) Like many players, including most recently Andy Lubahn and Juan Castillo from the 2014 MLS draft, Brian Shriver is an example where injury or circumstances meant he got lost in the MLS draft hype versus overall player development/awareness. Unfortunately, despite having a successful career in the NASL, including leading goal scorer and eight game winners in 2013, he’s still a forgotten man. Shriver was a highly touted college player with UNC, although was injured before the draft in 2009. He was drafted by FC Dallas, but not signed, and so he joined Miami FC in USL Pro and now has 30 goals in lower American soccer leagues despite still only 26 years of age.

2014 NASL season preview Article on RedNationOnline – 04/08/2014 With the close relationship between MLS and USL Pro, it looks like, at least on the pitch, the NASL is becoming the independent alternative in North American soccer that it wanted to be. The 2014 season sees the New York Cosmos being part of the league for the complete year and trying to retain the title they won last year, and potentially two expansion teams with major upsides. Indy Eleven are playing in an American soccer mecca that included Notre Dame winning the 2013 NCAA Soccer Championship and the Ottawa Fury have a good reputation in developmental soccer and are moving into an MLS quality stadium. The league is still fairly ambitious and one might worry about its long term future with teams such as Atlanta, San Antonio, Minnesota and Ottawa looking toward a potential MLS spot. As well, distances traveled by teams in the league are the most in world only behind the Russian 2nd Division. The league is hoping to grow and has already added three new clubs in Jacksonville, Oklahoma City, and Virginia planning to join the league in 2015, and unlike some clubs in USL Pro it seems that teams in the NASL are more financially secure. There is enough talent to populate growth in the league and following this level of soccer for close 20 years, I feel the league’s talent is as good as it ever has been. However, what still needs to be established is the league being used as a feeder league not only to MLS, but World soccer, with teams generating additional revenue for developing players and giving them the opportunities to showcase their abilities. Like last season, the 2014 season will be split into two seasons: a nine game Spring Season and an 18 game Fall Season, and there will also be playoffs with four teams to be contested by the winners of the spring and fall seasons hosting the next best two teams in the full year regular season table. Here is my preview for the 2014 season and who I think will be playing for the 2014 Soccer Bowl.

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

ATLANTA SILVERBACKS 2013: 10-7-9 (1st Spring Season/7th Fall Season/Lost Soccer Bowl 1-0) Head Coach: Eric Wynalda Key Returners: Pablo Cruz M (23gp 1g 2a), Mike Randolph D (20gp 1g 1a), Borfor Carr F (17gp 0g 2a) Key Newcomers: David Estrada F (Seattle MLS), Blair Gavin M (Seattle MLS), Junior Sandoval M (Marathon Hun) Analysis: I underestimated Atlanta last season and their group of young players mostly from amateur club Cal FC as they went on to win the Spring championship. The Fall Season went as expected with Atlanta finishing 7th partly due to the loss of some key players like Mark Bloom to Toronto and teams in the league figuring out what to expect. Atlanta has gone through another season of major turnover this offseason with only three returning players: Cruz, Randolph, and Carr who played 1000 minutes with the Silverbacks last season. Coach Eric Wynalda has brought in former MLS players Estrada and Gavin as well as Sandoval from Honduran club Marathon, although again most of the starting eleven lack quality pro experience so I risk similar ridicule by saying Atlanta will struggle again this season. 2014 Prediction: 9th Place CAROLINA RAILHAWKS 2013: 12-7-7 (2nd Spring Season/2nd Fall Season) Head Coach: Colin Clarke Key Returners: Ty Shipalane M (20gp 3g 3a), Kupono Low M (25gp 1g), Akira Fitzgerald G (25gp), Nick Zimmerman M (DNP) Key Newcomers: Jun Davidson M (Vancouver MLS), Aaron King F (Haka Finland) Conor Tobin D (17gp 1g 1a Minnesota), Uriah Bentick D (17gp 0g 2a - Wilmington) Analysis: Carolina suffered the biggest issue with a split season where despite having the most wins in the NASL last season they finished 2nd in both seasons, so they missed out on the 2013 Super Cup finals. Gone is NASL leading scorer Brian Shriver, although Carolina return with a strong squad and hopefully a healthy Nick Zimmerman, who missed the entire season with injury after scoring 15 goals during the 2012 NASL season. The Railhawks also have a number of players with MLS experience, including former Vancouver Whitecap Jun Marques Davidson who with Kupono Low should give Carolina a strong defensive midfield. Other key players are creative midfielder Enzo Martinez as a permanent player who joined the club on loan last season and was a highly regarded prospect going into the MLS after leading UNC to a national championship. I expect the RailHawks to be competitive, although a striker will need to be established if they are to challenge for a playoff place. 2014 Prediction: 7th Place FC EDMONTON 2013: 6-12-8 (5th Spring Season/6th Fall Season) Head Coach: Colin Miller Key Returners: Daryl Fordyce F (24gp 7g 1a), Neil Hlavaty M (24gp 2g 4a), Albert Watson D (20gp), Edson Edward D (20gp), Lance Parker G (20gp) Key Newcomers: Ritchie Jones M (Grimsby England), Frank Jonke F (Jaro Finland), Mike Banner M (Jaro Finland), Milton Blanco (25gp 1g 2a - Atlanta)

Analysis: Edmonton were one of the more difficult teams to beat last season, although part of this reason was that the Eddie's played defense first and as a result tied 12 of their 26 NASL games last season. Coach Colin Miller brought in experience this off season including former Manchester United and English youth player Ritchie Jones

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

and Canadian International Frank Jonke to provide a threat on offense that the team was lacking last season. There is no doubt that Edmonton has improved, but the biggest issue for the Eddie's is the rest of the league has as well, making it difficult to show great strides within the standings. 2014 Prediction: 6th Place FORT LAUDERDALE STRIKERS 2013: 7-5-14 (7th Spring Season/5th Fall Season) Head Coach: Gunter Kronsteiner Key Returners: Mark Anderson M (12gp 2g 1a), Ivan Guerrero D (22gp 0g 6a), Darnell King M (26gp 3g) Key Newcomers: Marius Ebbers (Germany), Oka Nikolav (Philadelphia MLS), Chris Nurse (22gp 3g - Edmonton), Shawn Chin (22gp 4g 2a - VSI Tampa) Analysis: Austrian coach Gunter Kronsteiner joins the Strikers as their new coach after the club had struggled last season, although much of this could be attributed to the injury of Mark Anderson. A healthy Anderson returns with Guerrero and King and are joined by Ex-Eddie Chris Nurse and midfielder Shawn Chin, although the most interesting off-season moves are the signing of German Bundesliga veterans Marius Ebbers who scored over 75 goals in the top leagues in Germany, and keeper Oka Nikolav who played close to 400 games for Eintracht Frankfurt. With five players in the starting 11 over 30 years of age it’s hard to imagine the Strikers will be fit enough to challenge for the league championship, however their experience may surprise teams on a good day. 2014 Prediction: 8th Place INDY ELEVEN 2013: No Record - Expansion Team Head Coach: Juergen Sommer Key Newcomers: Jose Kleberson M (Philadelphia MLS), Kristian Nicht G (24gp - Rochester), Walter Ramirez M (24gp 2g 2a - San Antonio), Mike Ambersley F (18gp 2g 1a - Tampa Bay), Pedro Mendes F (24gp, 8g, 1a - Atlanta) Analysis: Indy has gone the more traditional development direction than fellow expansion club Ottawa with only 18 players connected to the roster and only 1/3 them with a pro footballing pedigree. This doesn't mean there isn't some exciting additions, including former Manchester United and Brazilian international Jose Kleberson, Hondurans Walter Ramierez and Erick Norales, veteran keeper Kristian Nicht and forward Pedro Mendes, who I talked about in my list of overlooked players by the MLS. Depth will be the biggest issue for the club going into this season and are currently trialing a number of players who played at local universities. 2014 Prediction: 10th Place MINNESOTA UNITED FC 2013: 10-4-12 (6th Spring Season/4th Fall Season) Head Coach: Manny Lagos Key Returners: Simone Bracalello F (23gp 7g 5a), Miguel Ibarra M (26gp 1g 4a), Matt Van Oekel G (18gp), Justin Davis D (19gp) Key Newcomers: Tiago D (Sydney Australia), Jamie Watson M (20gp 10g 7a - Orlando), Christian Ramirez F (23gp 8g 4a - Charlotte), Tyler Polak (18gp - Rochester) Analysis: Without a chance for a playoff run, Minnesota had a mediocre 2013 season despite a number of quality individual performances. Players such as Bracalello, Ibarra, Van Oekel and Davis hope to continue their strong play although the loss of last season’s top goal scorer in Pablo Campos to a season ending injury will hurt their depth, especially up front. Minnesota brought in three players who were highly thought of in USL Pro including Jamie Watson, who scored 10 goals and 7 assists with Orlando last season, and former GA signing Tyler Polak. Forth year coach Manny Lagos also

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

brought in Brazilian veteran Tiago who has played in Europe and Australia. With the new NASL system of less playoff spots, Minnesota will have to show a greater consistency through a number of games to challenge for this year’s Soccer Bowl. 2014 Prediction: 5th Place NEW YORK COSMOS 2013: 9-4-1 (1st Fall Season / Won Soccer Bowl 1-0) Head Coach: Giovanni Savarese Key Returners: Marcos Senna M (13gp 5g 2a), Diomar Diaz F (12gp 5g 2a), Carlos Mendes D (13gp 1a), Hunter Freeman D (12gp 1a) Key Newcomers: Hans Denissen F (21gp 12g 2a - San Antonio), Jemal Johnson F (11gp 1g 1a - Fort Lauderdale), Mads Stokkelien F (Stabaek Norway) Analysis: The Cosmos, in the old tradition of the NASL, out-spent the other teams in the league, put together a quality team led by La Liga and Spanish National Team star Marcos Senna, and dominated the league losing only once all (fall) season long and winning the 2013 Soccer Bowl. The Cosmos kept most of their 2013 team going into the 2014 season and added depth, especially in the forward position led by Hans Denissen who scored 12 goals with San Antonio last season. The question now is with the Cosmos participating in both seasons this year, will they continue to dominate or will the extra amount of games become an issue I expect them to have the depth and with the added games it will give an opportunity for some of the younger players to get minutes. 2014 Prediction: 1st Place OTTAWA FURY 2013: No Record - Expansion Team Head Coach: Marc Dos Santos Key Players: Nicki Paterson M (24gp 7g 3a - Charleston), Sinisa Ubiparipovic M (Montreal MLS) Maykon D (AEL Cyprus), Mason Trafford D (Guizhou China), Tony Donatelli M (26gp 3gl 3a - VSI Tampa), Tommy Heinemann F (Vancouver MLS) Analysis: Ottawa went to great effort to add depth this winter to allow them to be a competitive team in their inaugural NASL season. The club includes two players who played in MLS last season with Heinemann and Ubiparipovic, plus six players from Europe and Canadian Andres Fresenga who played in South America. What should make Ottawa successful is the quality of players they signed from NASL level of play led by the midfield combination of Nicki Paterson and Tony Donatelli. It might take time for them to gel as unit but I feel they will be very strong this season and challenge for a Soccer Bowl place. 2014 Prediction: 3rd Place SAN ANTONIO SCORPIONS 2013: 9-3-14 (3rd Spring Season/8th Fall Season) Head Coach: Alen Macrina Key Returners: Javier Saavedra M (22gp 1g 6a), Greg Janicki D (20gp), Pat Phelan D (20gp), Thomas Zahorksi (14gp 9g) Key Newcomers: Daniel Barrera M (21gp 4g 7a - Atlanta), Richard Menjivar M (21gp 2g 2a - Atlanta), Sainey Touray F (26gp 12g 5a - Harrisburg), Shaun Saiko M (17gp 2g 3a - Edmonton) Analysis: San Antonio had a very poor fall season and have made drastic changes over the last six months, including the manager and seven to eight of the starting eleven. It's Canadian manager Alen Marcina’s first job, although to help him the Scorpions brought in midfielders Saiko, Barrera, Menjivar and Walter Restrepo; all players

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

who I feel deserves a deeper evaluation regarding their MLS potential. They join Saavedra and former Chivas USA player Josue Soto in one of the most interesting midfield’s in all of North American soccer. The defense includes four former MLS players including Ex-TFC'ers Adrian Cann and Julius James, while Eric Hassli joined a forward pack that includes Touray, who scoerd 12 goals, and Zahorski’s 9 goals in 2013. Like Ottawa, the biggest question for the Scorpions is how they gel as a club although I think they will be successful and show their MLS big brother how you can build depth on a budget. 2014 Prediction: 2nd Place TAMPA BAY ROWDIES 2013: 10-8-8 (5th Spring Season/3rd Fall Season) Head Coach: Ricky Hill Key Returners: Georgi Hristov M (22gp 12g 5a), Jay Needham D (20gp 2g), Frankie Sanfilippo D (25gp 2a), Diego Restrepo G (23gp), Evans Frimpong M (23gp 6g 2a) Key Newcomers: Brian Shriver F (22gp 13g 1a - Carolina), Darel Russel F (Toronto - MLS), Anthony Wallace D (Colorado - MLS), Christophe Lallet (Hammarby - Sweden) Analysis: Similar to other clubs favoured to do well this season, the Tampa Bay Rowdies have done a great job recruiting players who were highly regarded in the American youth soccer system and as potential MLS players. The Rowdies forward combination of Brian Shriver, Amani Walker, Lucky Mkosana, and Casey Townsend would be familiar to any person who follows either college or soccer at this level. Although what will make the Rowdies successful this season are three foreign signings in the midfield with Bulgarian Georgi Hristov, who scored 12 goals and 5 assists last season, Christophe Lallet, who was a starter in Sweden Allsvenskan, and Darel Russell who has played 400 professional games including 18 last season with Toronto FC. The Rowdies have good experience and depth in all positions and will feel they have as good of chance as anybody else in lifting the 2014 Soccer Bowl. 2014 Prediction: 4th place

2014 Ottawa Fury season preview Article on RedNationOnline – 04/03/2014 There is a lot of excitement and anticipation going into the Ottawa Fury’s inaugural NASL season and deservedly so. This will be the highest level of soccer in the capital since the Ottawa Intrepid/Pioneers were one of the first teams to fold from the Canadian Soccer League in 1989. Despite this, soccer has always been strong in region, including most recently with Capital FC being a top team in the CPSL, the Gloucester Celtic and the Ottawa Carleton Soccer League being one of the top men’s amateur setup in the country. Spearheading the drive of putting Ottawa on the soccer map has been the Fury. I’m happy it’s them who are in charge of this venture and not some corporate non-soccer entity that was talked about when Ottawa was potentially in the market for a MLS club. For those who don’t know the history of the Fury, they been involved in high level North American development in soccer since 2005 running a PDL team which included four regular season league titles and a Women’s team who have dominated the W-league since 2003. They also have youth teams participating in the USL development league which is the highest standard available. With this history, I expected the club to put a major emphasis on player development. As an exercise I put a list of players who I thought the club would sign and was happy when a number of them included players with Canadian National Team potential. What I wasn’t expecting when the venture was announced is the ambition the club has

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

shown in signing more established players both from pro leagues in North America and from foreign leagues. However, if you look at the management this also shouldn’t be a surprise. Manager Marc Dos Santos ran a successful two year campaign in the CPSL at the Trois-Rivieres and was head coach of the Montreal Impact when they were a USL/NASL club - another club who showed great ambition when they played at this level. He also coached in Brazil which means his awareness of players is probably greater than not only most NASL coaches but MLS as well. The Ottawa Fury also brought in Martin Nash as the Assistant Coach, who as a player played 400+ pro games, 38 games with the Canadian National Team and his most success, at least where he had the most impact, was at this level of play, winning two A-league championships with the Rochester Rhinos, and two USL First Division titles with the Vancouver Whitecaps. The players they have brought in adds to this experience, depth and potential, although they are also one of the younger teams in the league with an average age around 25 years of age. Goalkeeping Certainly on paper the Fury’s goalkeeping raises the greatest concern with American Devala Garrick being the only one who has previous pro experience, although this was in weaker divisions arguably below NASL standard in Thailand and the Swedish Third Division. He does have a good size at 6’3 and won himself a position through a trial. The other keepers are two relatively unproven Canadians in 22 year old Marcel DeBellis and 19 year old Chad Bush. DeBellis was on the books for a couple of lower division Italian clubs but never got a first game, while Bush was the starting keeper for the Fury 2013 PDL club and only allowed one goal in ten games. I expect DeBellis to be the eventual starter unless the Fury decides to upgrade and if him or Bush can work out it will certainly improve their stature with the Canadian National Team. However, with a number of keepers attached to MLS clubs, maybe bringing someone in on loan to add depth can be an additional option. Full Backs RNO readers are familiar with the projected starting Fullbacks, although prior to this winter I don’t think many thought they would be playing in Ottawa. Both Canadian National Team players Andreas Fresenga and Mason Trafford have been on the RNO radar for a number of years and talked about certain signings and failures for doing so for all three Canadian MLS clubs. Trafford came on the soccer radar as early as 2004 when he joined UNLV playing Soccer at a NCAA Division 1 level. He then played for his home club Whitecaps but wasn’t part of their MLS play so he moved to and was a key starter both in Finland and in China, finally getting his first Canada appearance in 2013. Now 27, Trafford is expected to be a key contributor for the Fury this season either at left back or centre back. Meanwhile, Andres Fresenga, although still only 21, is part of the great future hopes of the Canadian National Team. Born in Toronto andspent time developing in Uruguay where he played with both Nacional and Racing Montevideo academies since 15 years of age, although was not a regular with the first team. Many fans and scouts will be watching how he performs and a successful season could see him playing in MLS or a bigger league by 2015. If Trafford is to play centre back I would expect Brazilian Maykon to play on the left. Similar to Toronto FC’s Jackson, Maykon’s skill set allows him to play a number of positions. The 29 year old started out as a full back in the Portugal Super Liga playing for Belenenses, Pacos, and Leiria before transferring to AEL in Cyprus where he played a more offensive role. I feel he can be useful in both positions for Ottawa depending on how Dos Santos

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

wishes to play them, with even the options of Maykon and Fresenga bringing in a system and style not utilized in North America. Centre Back Ottawa brought in another potential CMNT player for the future at Centre Back in Drew Backie. The 23 year old 6’1 defender was drafted 28th overall by Columbus in the 2013 MLS draft after a successful colligate career at Denver. The Regina native has represented Canada at U17, U20, U23 levels but needs games at a competitive level to prove he is an asset. Competing with Trafford and Beckie for the centre back roles will be Omer Jarun and Ramon Soria. Juran is 6’5 and has experienced playing for the Palestine national team and clubs in Poland, and most recently Belgium. The 30 year old was born in United States and played in the NCAA Division 1 and at the USL level, including with the Whitecaps in 2008, so he should be accustomed to the style of play in the NASL. Sora is a 25 year old Spaniard who started in the Villareal academy, played a number of games with the RCD Mallorca B squad in the Spanish Third Division and he also played for the Spain’s U16 and U19 national youth team. Soria is only listed at 5’8, although most of his games in Spain were at centre back and could be a good small/big backline combo with Juan, Trafford or Beckie which has worked for LA Galaxy in the MLS. Defensive Midfield With Ottawa being an expansion team it’s presumptuous to assume what formation they will use. However, if Ottawa wishes to use either one or two defensive midfielders in their formation they have players who have experienced in this role, including the vastly experienced Richie Ryan as well as two younger Canadians, who have experience at this level, in Philippe Davies and Kenny Caceros. Ryan is an Irish midfielder who was part of the Sunderland academy in 2001. The 29 year old made two EPL appearances as a sub before moves throughout the lower divisions in England, Scotland and playing 120 games in the League of Ireland. He also won 4 cups in Ireland and was the 2010 PFAI Player of the year, which was an accomplishment for a defensive minded player. Davies and Caceros are two players who I thought would have joined the club as both were playing at this level for the past couple of seasons. Davies can play both defense and midfield professionally he started with the Whitecaps, was part of the MLS club but didn’t play with the first team. The last couple of years he played at Richmond in USL Pro. He also has played for Canada at all levels including his first senior cap against Denmark last January. Midfielders Following the history of successful teams at this level, Ottawa has recruited an experienced midfield who can help both the offense and defense, but almost as importantly, understand what is needed to be successful at this level of soccer. Leading the Fury is their first signing in Nicki Paterson. The 29 year old has played professional soccer in Scotland but also played in US College at UNLV and a number of season in the lower division of United States. What has made him a high profile target is his last three season with the Charleston playing 72 games scoring 23 goals including 4 from direct free kicks, 10 assists and 68 shots on target, and also helping the Battery to championship in 2012. Paterson most likely will be teaming up with Tony Donatelli and Sinisa Ubiparipovic. The 29 year old Donatelli is becoming a legend at this level of the American game playing for Vancouver, Montreal, Rochester, Charleston and Tampa Bay before joining Ottawa with a record of scoring 28 goals and 20 assists in 203 games. While Ubiparipovic

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

has played 82 games in the MLS spent with the New York Red Bulls and Montreal Impact. He also played with the Impact in the NASL in 2011 where he showed more offense than he did at the higher level. The other midfielders are young, but do have some promise including Zakaria Messoudi who is on loan from the Montreal Impact. The others include Hamza Elias, a 20 year old Ghanaian who played for the U17 Ghana team and was recruited by European clubs, and 21 year old Canadian Mauro Eustaquio who has represented Canada at youth level and trained in Portugal. All three should become fan favourites with Fury fans providing excitement off the bench. Forwards Ottawa have brought in a forward combination that will be familiar for those who follow Canadian soccer closely, as well as a couple of Brazilians with professional experience. As I mentioned in my overlooked MLS players I hope Canadian forward Carl Haworth gets an opportunity to prove he’s capable of playing at a higher level. Haworth's College and PDL statistics were some of the best at that level scoring 35 goals and 21 assists in NCAA and 48 goals and 19 assists in PDL, although he’s never got a chance at a higher level, mostly due to being undersized at 5’7. Having a familiarity with the Fury hopefully means he’ll get the minutes to at least prove himself. The other recognizable forward is former Vancouver Whitecap Tom Heinemann, who has great size at 6’4 and likes to use his strength when the opportunity presents itself. Heinemann played 45 career MLS games scoring 4 goals and also played with Charleston, Harrisburg and Carolina at this level, including winning the 2010 championship game MVP. Not pretty to watch, although scrappy goals count the same as skilled ones. However, both Haworth and Heinemann could be playing backups to the two Brazilian signings in Dantas and Oliver. Dantas is 24 years old, 6’ feet tall, played professionally in both Norway and Finland and last season he was the leading goal scorer with his Finnish club FC Lahti. Meanwhile, Oliver is 21 year old who plays more on the wing. He participated in PSV Eindhoven’s academy in Holland before joining Portuguese side CD Nacional playing 11 games in the Superliga. The Fury also have Canadian ex-youth international Pierre Mayard, whose best position is probably also on the wing. The 24 year old started his career with Dos Santos with Trois-Rivieres before playing games with Montreal, Charleston and Rochester and provides the Fury greater depth. Synopsis As you can probably tell I’m very high on Ottawa, although I will give a word of warning that when Toronto FC joined MLS in 2007 they recruited bigger name talent as well, opposed to the traditional expansion route of a slow build, and arguably these early expectations hurt the club in their overall development. This being said, I expect Ottawa to compete for honors in the NASL this season. I also feel when they are ready to move into TD Place, an MLS worthy stadium, if the people of Ottawa are willing to support the team with the same ambition as management, both on and off the field, there is a very good opportunity that we could see Canada’s capital as a future MLS destination.

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

2014 FC Edmonton season preview Article on RedNationOnline – 04/06/2014 Sports, like other aspects of life, was originally covered by the media as an event with reporters giving accounts of what happened and putting an emphasis of the surroundings. In many cases who had won, and in instances the score, not being the headline. As organized sports grew in popularity, more coverage was dedicated and journalists such as Sid Mercer, Milt Dunnell and Dick Young became celebrities in their own right, giving their spin on the game as they saw it. However, what they wrote and what was actually happening on the field was quite different and the saying “you never played the game” also became popular. To deal with this the leagues started releasing their own material, which in the industry is called “Sports Information” and this data included statistics to give an unbiased account of the events. Not much was being done with these statistics until in the 70’s and 80’s where people like Bill James starting using these statistics and expanding upon them to provide a sort of analysis. Which was brought to the World’s attention through the book/movie Moneyball and created a new buzz word in “Sports Analytics” I’ve always had a huge interest in Sports Information, similar to reading about the making of a movie or a history of a band, I will do the same in relation to sports. Statistics is a great way of providing a large amount of information. Although ideas and knowledge can come from it, looking at the industry I partly feel it’s like the glory days of sports journalists and sports analytics is losing touch with what is actually being played on the field, leaving themselves open, and rightfully so, to the “you never played the game” criticism. This brings me to my 2014 preview of FC Edmonton. There isn’t close to the advanced information that MLS now has, so most people, especially ones who now rely on data, wouldn’t even attempt to give an analytical point of view on what to expect in this season’s NASL. However, if you look at it more closely the average player age for FC Edmonton this season is the same as the Vancouver Whitecaps. Which means that the FC Edmonton players, to get to this level, have a similar path as MLS players, be it their history in academies, colleges, or as professionals, and many players in the NASL have actually played more professional games in North America than players in MLS. In my records I have the current FC Edmonton roster combining for over 1600 pro games, as well Colin Miller returns as the coach/recruiter putting a greater stamp on how he wants the team to play. Goalkeeping The two primary keepers from last season return in 2014 in Lance Parker and John Smits. Both performed well last season with goals against averages around a goal a game and saving about 75% of the shots on target. Although he might be known more for his modeling career on the cover of GQ than that as a keeper, Lance Parker will be FC Edmonton’s number one after having the second lowest goals against average and the highest save percentage in the NASL last season. He has now played in the American professional soccer system for six seasons including time with Chivas USA in MLS and I’m surprised with both his ability and marketing potential, an MLS club hasn’t approached to sign him. Canadian’s John Smits and Tyson Farago are Parker’s backups, although Smits have played a quarter of FC Edmonton’s games the past two seasons and has been an admirable replacement when needed for Parker. Smits

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

comes from the CIS playing his university soccer at University of Toronto where he won the championship in 2010 and was a first-team all-star. Full Backs Last season, FC Edmonton were known for their organized system and their commitment on the defensive end playing as seven players dedicated to these roles. It was comparable to the system used by Sporting Kansas City, in some circumstances with three midfielders protecting the back four. Due to this, the position players played were interchangeable, although looking at the squad I think the best option at full back is Lance Laing on the left and new signing Milton Blanco on the right. Lance Laing is a 26 year old Jamaican International who started his NASL career with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers before joining the Eddie’s last season. Laing primarily was the starting left back last season, although he did provide some offense as well including 10 shots on target and a goal from a direct free kick against his former club, and along with Neil Hlavaty will take responsibilities on dead-ball situations. Milton Blanco is both a versatile and experienced player. The 29 year old started his pro career with Chivas USA in 2005 and has since played with a number of PDL, USL Pro and NASL clubs, including the Atlanta Silverhawks last season. Listed as a midfielder Blanco did play some games at full back for the Silverhawks after Mark Bloom joined Toronto FC. He scored one goal last season also via a direct free kick. If Miller chooses to keep Blanco in the midfield, Mallon Roberts, who started 11 games last season, or new signing Kareem Moses, could play in this role as I feel Edson Edward is more impactful as a centre back than on the right. Centre Back Albert Watson is a centre back, and team captain who has played over 300 games in the Northern Irish Premier League with Ballymena and Linfield before joining Edmonton last season with Darryl Fordyce. Watson played 20 games with the Eddie’s last season with the club only allowing more than one goal twice while he played. As mentioned prior I think Canadian defender Edson Edward, based on his size, has more potential at centre back oppose to on the right. Edwards was part of the Ottawa Fury’s youth program and his success in the PDL got him an opportunity and a game in the MLS with FC Dallas in 2010. Since then, he played in Puerto Rico before joining FC Edmonton last season. Additional defenders include Canadian Michael Nonni, who played college at UC Santa Barbara and played in Germany, while 17-year-old new signing Marko Aleksic has great size and could be a future MLS and Canadian national team prospect. Midfielders Based on how the team was set up last season, Collin Miller favourite’s formation is a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-1-2, so he might not play players in the official role of defensive midfield. He does have a lot of players in his squad whose skills best fit this position as a box-to-box midfielders with greater upside on the defensive end than the offensive. Edmonton brought in three experienced midfielders in former Manchester United academy player and England youth international Ritchie Jones, Horace James from Atlanta and Mike Banner who played four years with Chicago Fire and with Finnish club FF Jaro. Jones played 159 league games across the lower divisions in England, scoring nine goals and 10 assists through only 36 shots on target. In Banner’s career he has seven goals, three assists and 26 SOT in 102 games. While James played in 21 games last season with the Silverbacks scoring two goals, an assist and six shots on target. I would expect similar numbers this season with a greater emphasis on defense and protecting the back four.

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

Providing depth in this role will be Canadian Hanson Boakai, who moved to Edmonton from Guinea at the age of seven and represented Canada at the 2013 under-17 CONCACAF championship scoring two goals in four games, and Ghanaian Edem Mortotsi who has been part of the FC Edmonton reserve team well attending university at NAIT. Attacking Midfielder Gone is Shaun Saiko who played a pivotal role in the Eddie’s offense the past few seasons scoring 18 goals, 14 assists with 71 shots on target in 65 games in primarily a midfield role. However, never one for more frigid play, Saiko found it difficult to adapt to Miller’s system and has joined rival NASL side San Antonio Scorpions. This means that FC Edmonton will expect most of their midfield creativity to come from, including on set pieces, Neil Hlavaty. The American midfielder was ignored by the MLS draft coming out of college but eventually signed with Swedish side Osters and then Polish side Jagiellonia. Most people following NASL will know him from his time at Minnesota. Last season he joined FC Edmonton and took up the role as vice captain as well as the go to guy on penalties and set play opportunities. He led the team in assists, although the club will expect more from the 27 year old this season as he supports the two strikers. Adding depth will be former CSL player, 22 year old Massimo Mirabelli, and former Whitecap academy player and CIS most valuable player at UBC Gurpal Dosanjh, who I actually wrote about on RNO in 2012 as a potential MLS combine invitee. Forwards FC Edmonton doesn’t have a lot of depth up front but the two starters both have professional experience and have shown to be successful in the past. Daryl Fordyce is a 27 year old who played his academy football in England and started his pro career at AFC Bournemouth he returned to the Northern Irish Premier League scoring 62 goals in 263 games, mostly in a midfield role. Although with the Eddie’s he was mostly used as a forward scoring a team high 7 goals. He will be joined by Canadian International Frank Jonke who has spent the last five years in Finland. Known as a physical player, Jonke was a key player and target man for his Veikkauslliga sides scoring a goal every three games, getting more than a shot on target per game, but was also yellow carded as many times he scored. Jonke will be handful for most NASL defenders and if FC Edmonton decides to play more of a 4-3-3 or 4-3-2-1 with Fordyce and Hlavaty providing support, the Eddie’s could be a greater threat to score goals than they have in the past. Synopsis As I write this FC Edmonton still have a few trialists in camp, as well in the past the Eddie’s benefited from players loaned to them by the Vancouver Whitecaps. With Jonke playing a similar style to Omar Salgado it’s understandable that Whitecaps loaned him to Charleston instead. Looking at the other teams in the league, I see FC Edmonton finishing the Spring League in the middle of the pack but the club still has opportunities to improve their depth. With the NASL playing a split season there is a chance to reshuffle for the Fall tournament to improve their chances for a 2014 NASL cup birth. I do have a soft spot for soccer in Edmonton and arguably my two favourite Canadian soccer moments, Eddy Berdusco’s goal against Brazil and the Women’s U19 semis took place there spurred on by the atmosphere of 40,000+ crowds.

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

FC Edmonton’s home park of 5000, Clarke Stadium, is a far away from Commonwealth in terms of support and capacity. However, in following both the NASL and FC Edmonton as closely as I have, I have gained a greater respect for the quality of player who plays in the league and feel understanding the game at this level better will translate to a higher quality and a could advance MLS more than a gadget or stat.

Where has the Fury faltered in their first season? Article on RedNationOnline – 08/17/2014 It has been a difficult season for the Ottawa Fury on the pitch. The split schedule hides the fact the club is 3-3-9 on the year in the NASL and fighting to stay out of last place with Indy Eleven and FC Edmonton, who have similar records midway through the season. Their record has been somewhat of a surprise to me. Prior to the season I expected the Fury to compete for at least mid-table security, and maybe a playoff run based on the quality of their players' past performances prior to joining the club. As well as an inside view of the club from ownership and management, who talked about a structure and belief to minimize risks, which answered concerns I might have had. The question I ask myself is: Was I fooled? Did I become a product of fandom? I wanted the Fury to be a success both on and off the pitch, so was hoping the team would be successful to add a happy ending to this storyline. Or is this just a product of soccer and sports where things happen that are completely out of anyone's control? Most of the analysis I provide is based on performance and statistical output, and I let the statistical data speak for itself. Also, unless I'm the one making the decisions, am not emotionally invested in someone else's choices. The reality is, when it comes to leagues like the English Premier League, even though I have been following it for twenty years, I don't support a particular club. In North America, arguably my connection to Toronto FC is more one through friends and hoping they succeed for them moreso than my own interests. I supported specific clubs growing up, but statistics changed most of this as you begin to see things happen in sport for a reason and not because you hope it happens. My projection and statistical analysis work also has a purpose beyond creating content for articles and making me a target of ridicule from people who live or die from home team passion. This includes my recent projection for the upcoming English Premier League which produced over one hundred responses on twitter saying how little I know about the game. The purpose of the work is evaluation in providing the same service to what people do in many fields of business Quality Assurance. What the analysis is supposed to show is what should be expected, monitoring how things develop, and how to tweak issues to fix a problem opposed to letting the whole project get out of hand. Which has been the history of Toronto FC most of their existence. In the case of soccer I have a complete history of past statistical performances for all players, which gives me an idea of how players are supposed to perform across the league and then base team expectations of this. I also take data throughout the season to monitor the situation and continue or amend my evaluation. From the start, as mentioned in my Ottawa Fury preview, there was a number of team development moves I liked at the time and still agree with the moves today. The club brought in a number of players with previous professional experience at similar levels to the NASL. Players who are aware of what it takes to be successful at this level of the game and are aware of the struggles to be expected in an under-valued, under-appreciated environment. As well as the added issues of travel that maybe only a club in Russia has experienced anywhere else in the world. The biggest thing that stands out is that the Fury's initial big-time signing Nicki Paterson has only played five games and 386 minutes, while former MLS striker Tommy Heinemann has only played in eight games and 579 minutes.

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

These games/minutes missed through injuries have had a big impact on the club as I expected them to be in the starting eleven. Looking at expected results, Paterson would have scored goals, made assists and been the club's dead ball specialists. Tommy Heinemann, in my view, was their best striker option and had the potential of being one of the league's top goalscorers, similar to what Columbus Crew loanee Aaron Schoenfeld has done with Dayton this year in USL Pro. Not necessarily easy to watch, sometimes these tall/sturdy strikers make a big impact in North American leagues, partly because as I mentioned in my previous article, the leniency of North American referees. The most positive aspect of the Fury this season, as I predicted in the preseason, has been the play of the veteran midfield. Richie Ryan has been consistent in the holding midfield role and added three assists this season. Tony Donatelli has probably been the team's MVP showing the savviness that 200 games at this level will bring. While more was probably expected out of Sinisa Ubiparipovic when the season began, he still has been a consistent stater and provided two goals and an assist. These three players, and a healthy Nicki Paterson, should provide a very professional performance with an offensive upside which are ranked only to San Antonio as a top midfield in the league. The questions of concern begin at the back and Heinemann's replacements at forward. Unfortunately the Canadian players are part of the concern. This has been a curse, because I really want Canadian players to perform well, have successful careers and be competitive. There are signs in analysis that show a different story from the Men's National team being rightfully 5th or 6th in CONCACAF, concerns for the Women's national team going forward and in the case of Ottawa, Canadian players either playing in positions of team weakness or not taking advantage of opportunities. Going into the season I profiled two Canadian players who I had high expectations for and felt the biggest thing they lacked was the chances in their career to show they could potentially be both future MLS and National Team players. Due to the Heinemann injury, Carl Haworth has been given opportunities; more than I even expected, playing in 15 games and 1069 minutes and will be known in the record books as the first player to score a goal for Ottawa at TD Place. The issue is he hasn't been consistent enough or taken his chances and his recent goal was his first on the season. Previously in his career at college and PDL, Haworth has shown the ability to capitalize on his opportunities similar to a Dom Dwyer or Jonathan Osorio, and hopefully scoring will give him the confidence that management has so far shown in him. Andres Fresenga was another exciting prospect that you hoped would make an impact with the Fury and very soon be both an the MLS and National Team regular. I did have some concerns with him playing in Uruguay, which is a league I cover statistically and he had yet to play a professional league game. However, with seven years of development in South America the hope was he could translate his development in game situations. Fresenga has suffered some knee issues, but has only played in four of the Fury games, while being an unused sub seven times, so there is now concerns if the Fury will keep him beyond this season. Meanwhile, fellow Canadians Mason Trafford, Drew Beckie, and Phillipe Davies have been automatics on the team sheets, although their play would be regarded as satisfactory and haven't shown that they automatically deserve to play at a higher level. I commend the Fury for taking these risks on Canadian players and wouldn't blame them directly or expected more from them, because of the failures on other moves the club has made in putting the team together. One being, and I noted at the beginning of the season, was a concern in net and the club has tried to fix this in signing 35 year old Romuald Peiser, who played a number of seasons in Portugal. I feel a better option was to try to get a keeper on loan from an MLS club at the start of the season, as goalkeeping tends to be one position that we excel at in terms of development in North America, but at least Peiser means they are trying to fix the issue. The other issue which is a red flag, is the hope that foreign players will be able to adapt and make an impact in the league. The club brought three Brazilians in Maykon, Oliver, and Dantas, who were supposed to be the Fury's xfactors this season. As mentioned in many of my MLS columns, these moves always concern me. This is especially

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

since these players are part of my database and if truly successful at their previous club, they most likely would not be joining a second division club in North America. In the case of the Fury, I went against my general rule as I was convinced otherwise by Ottawa manager Marc Dos Santos that he had a relationship and belief in these players to be successful in the NASL. While they have shown glimpses of skill so far, we have both been proven wrong and I feel this has much to do with the poor results more than anything. The one aspect of the club I'm unaware of is their budget, so I can't truly judge what was expected from each player based on that evaluation. Perhaps despite their reputation, certain players were brought in cheaply, while names I haven't mention such as Soria and Jarun, based on salary, were supposed to play a much larger role than they have and should also be criticized. This season is probably over in terms of the playoffs and the Fury are realistically looking at a seventh overall place as something to aim for. Evaluating the club currently, it's not a complete waste of a season as it provides experience and understanding of the league. If the Fury can retain the services of five or six of their more consistent players, that can become the building block in developing a more competitive club next year. Truthfully, in evaluating the league at the start I should have removed my personal attachment, as my general assessment and predictions of the league this season has been pretty good. Of note were the players who have excelled throughout the league this season who have been historically consistent performers at this level. These are players with a proven past who are too big for this league, such as Eric Hassli and Marcos Serna, and young players, which there are thousands in North America who are brought in for cheap but take advantage of their opportunities. The top teams this year all have players who were in my 20 overlooked by MLS. Based on budget constraints and availability to players, I feel this is the model and roster make-up that will always be the template for success. It should be something to consider for Ottawa and Edmonton, and if the NASL/CFL deal comes to fruition, then soon to be Canada's league.

The potential from 2015 and short-term future of soccer in Canada Article on RedNationOnline – 09/29/2014 One of the most talked about topics in Canadian soccer this past summer has been the idea of a men's professional soccer league, or at minimum a number of new professional clubs. First, there was the talk of a domestic league potentially being one of the agenda items of the CSA along with the 2026 World Cup bid, then the NASL/CFL option with the idea of having clubs play in new CFL stadiums. Finally, as I mentioned in my previous article, the potential of three Canadian MLS teams competing with reserve/farm teams in USL Pro. While only FC Montreal have been finalized for USL Pro, the option for other clubs still remain with Hamilton saying they are interested in housing a soccer club in the Ti-Cats new stadium. Out west, despite New Westminster objecting to their new soccer stadium, the Vancouver Whitecaps have mentioned they are still actively pursuing options for a USL Pro club. In Toronto, knowing TFC’s marketing department, if the club fails to make the playoffs this year, a USL Pro club might be a new way of convincing fans that they are working on building the club in the right direction. I expect by the 2016 season at least five clubs will playing a form of second tier professional soccer in Canada. It could potentially be seven if all three MLS clubs elect to go the USL Pro route and Winnipeg wishes to have a team play in their new CFL stadium. This also considers Edmonton and Ottawa are still going strong, and although both

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

clubs have had their troubles and were probably expecting a better 2014 season, I feel there is enough local fan support and capable ownership to allow the clubs to build from where they are now over the next couple of years. I'm not sure some markets, specifically other Canadian CFL cities such as Calgary and Regina, will have a team because of some warning signs the Ottawa Fury have shown this season. Despite a new team and stadium, the club is averaging approximately 5,000 fans, which are decent numbers but less than expected. The current numbers should make the Fury profitable, but not a guarantee. If you look at the history of new franchises, most are launched based on comparable numbers in their respective market. It will also be interesting to see what the pricing structure and support the Canadian MLS II teams will have, as at the end of the day like most things, especially entertainment, success is all based on demand. In my opinion, the smarter option is an independent Canadian league. Even with teams currently connected to USL Pro and NASL, at this level local rivalries mean a lot more than a team’s professional standing. I would imagine a Hamilton home game against Toronto FC II or FC Montreal would sell more tickets and generate interest than games against Minnesota and San Antonio. However, this idea would probably go against the views of the league office of MLS, NASL and USL Pro. As I have said since I first started writing for RedNation Online, and even prior which I'm happy others are seeing this point of view, is that the current American Soccer system has little interest in promoting, marketing and trying to make soccer succeed in Canada. Personally, my experience goes back almost since the start of MLS in 1996. I followed the league closely, provided material and presented ideas regarding the league, talked about the audience potential in Canada before there were any Canadian teams, and even worked on an application for a Toronto MLS club before Toronto FC came into existence. I also had some connections with the Toronto Lynx and original version of USL Pro: the APSL. I started doing analytics and statistics in soccer in 1994 with the start of the English Premier League, US World Cup and tried to work with APSL and the old Toronto Rockets. Despite the league having players such as Dale Mitchell, Dominic Mobilio, Pat Onsted, Pat Harrington, and Jean Harbor, and Canadians teams being three out of seven clubs, the number of Canadian players in the league was less than 30%. Soccer in America and Canada has very visible blemishes, plain and simple. We are not producing the amount of professional players based on the amount of money in the game, and the number of players willing to commit to become a professional. In my work I have a database of 80,000 players around the world, and although I cover soccer closer in North America than other leagues, I would confidently say the amount of U11-U12 players in the United States is a larger number than exists in each major European country. One would expect with these numbers a healthy pool of top level players for the global game. However, players emerging at the pro level from the age of 17 to 20 number dozens to hundreds of talented players for each European country, while in my top 100 MLS prospects for 2015 I would estimate only three or four of those players have any significant value or interest on the world soccer market. Due to Canada’s population I don't think we are worse, but we still have our issues, even though one of the 2015 prospects I feel has value is Brampton’s Cyle Larin. The truth is the Canadian soccer pool is smaller than any I have dealt with in the world, even New Zealand. There are several countries with 1/10th the population of Canada that have twice as many professional players or soccer prospects to choose from. Part of our standing comes down to a lack of opportunities, but I think this is also a reflection of where we are; we just haven't been good enough and the amount of Canadian players deserving of pro careers might fill one or two teams’ complete roster, let alone enough players to found a league on. This might make me the only one who questions the CSA’s motives in restricting the amount of non-Canadians who can either play in a Canadian league or on tier two Canadian teams. The reason is I look at all soccer in terms of team success and player development, and knowing the restrictions Canadian teams are already facing based on interest, budget, location and general lack of resources or proper soccer people, why make it more difficult on them Especially by forcing teams to use players who might not be good enough, or more importantly, might not be wanted.

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

Recently I published a handbook on the top 50 prospects in the USL Pro. 25 are connected to an MLS team, meaning they were playing on a USL Pro team on loan or on Orlando and have an MLS contract. The other 25 players are those who in 2014 were contracted with a USL Pro club. With the expansion of MLS next season I expect most to be playing full-time in MLS and I think they were some of the best players in the USL Pro during the 2014 season. Others players who were equal were older and mostly foreign. Even out of the 50, only 60% were American. The rest composing of six from the Caribbean, five from Africa, two were Mexican and Kyle Porter and Jordan Hamilton were the two Canadians on the list. The truth is that the USL Pro and NASL are good soccer leagues in large part because of the influence of the foreign players and in many ways the same goes with PDL, College and this is even showing up in the Academy leagues. According to talk from the CSA, if a Canadian team joins the USL Pro they want minimum restrictions of half the players need to be Canadian (playing for a Canadian National Team), at least six of eleven starters in each game, and if Canada was to start their own pro league the restrictions could be greater. During the current NASL season, Ottawa, who have been given credit for their inclusion of Canadians, have a total of 8 from 23 players and only 37% of the total minutes played. Meanwhile, Edmonton has a total of 9 Canadians of 26 players and only 28% of the total minutes played, and both clubs have at times struggled to be competitive in the league this season. If we add Hamilton and potentially Winnipeg to that mix, we are talking another 35-40 players who are expected to play major minutes just to fit the CSA guidelines. Then we address the three MLS reserve/farm teams. It is true they will be using a number of current Academy players who are mostly Canadian, although as I explained in my last article what has added to the buzz of these reserve teams have been the success of the LA Galaxy this season. In 2014 the LA Galaxy II used a total of 36 players throughout the season: 23 Americans, a similar ratio to an MLS team but more foreigners than a traditional USL Pro club. LAG II also sent down a number of senior players such as Gyasi Zardes, Marcelo Sarves, and Todd Dunivant to get match fitness during the season, which would be difficult for the Canadian MLS teams to do under CSA rules since most MLS players are not Canadian. There is also the issue of the available Canadian player pool in general. Admittedly, I have a much closer relationship to soccer in Ontario than I do in British Columbia or Quebec, but I researched and asked knowledgeable Canadian soccer people which players deserve a pro team who currently don't have one. The most common names I received were Emery Welshman, Matt Stinson, Jonathan Lao, Nicholas Lindsay, Josh Janniere, Keith Makubuya and Oscar Cordon. From watching League One Ontario games this summer I agree with this list and all these players deserve an opportunity. The problem is they also have something else in common: they are all ex-Toronto FC players who the Reds have given up on. So why, hypothetically as an example, would Toronto FC II want to hire a number of ex-players only to fit a quota and why would a player want to join a club who have already cast them off I've been told these are similar scenarios with both the Vancouver Whitecaps and Montreal Impact where players who they feel have something to show and improve got to this level in soccer by starting out in each clubs’ MLS academies, but were thought not good enough to be given long term MLS contracts. This doesn't always mean that these released players deserve a shot, and there are a number of other Canadian players should also be given a chance to play professionally. Some names to include would be former NCAA players Joe Anderson, Christian Seon, Evan James, Babayele Sodade, Etienne Boulanger, Milo Kapor, Alon Badat, Jarrett Hamilton and Jordan Ongaro. Added to that list are current League One Ontario players Jason Mills, Sergio Ribadeneira, Andrew Ornoch, Michael Pio and Franco Lo Presti, to name a few. While finally, names such as Sando Rajkovic, Adrian Leroy, Ledi Bushiri, Justin Maheu, Julian Uccello, Adam Street and Gabe Gala are also talented players who arguably deserved more opportunities than they were ever given. This is one reason I suggested starting a project similar to NHL Central Scouting used in Ice Hockey to have an ongoing scouting record of every potential player. The purpose would be to use it for work with clubs, agents, players and

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

other people involved in the game so no one falls through the cracks. However, when I proposed this idea to a handful of governing bodies, like many logical ideas in sports, it was unfortunately dismissed. Which brings me back to the CSA, where playing hardball before things actually take place or after the fact doesn't mean much. In my opinion, where we should have played a major role is in getting MLS to regard Canadian players as domestics across the league. MLSE’s mandate by bringing in Toronto FC, while holding hands with the CSA, was to provide a building block for Canadian soccer. Yet eight years in the team is resigned to spending millions of dollars on an American, a Brazilian and Englishman and still can't accomplish just a playoff spot. Vancouver and Montreal have strong reputations based on their academy teams and playing in USSDA, PDL and now USL Pro, but are still mostly struggling teams on the pitch. Based on what actually exists here in Canada, we should be further along than we are. However, I'm not saying the task in front of everybody is easy, but I would expect I am not alone in believing we can and should do better. Sports is almost more about failing than winning, especially when you are looking for the ultimate success of a championship, a winning culture or generating a profit. Based on this failure, it’s a much crueler world as well. There is a reason why coaches only last a couple of seasons, GMs and upper management have short life spans as well, and for a player, most of their supporters need to realize that based on options many of the players are just not good enough to be integral components of title-winning or highly competitive teams. From my experience of being involved with Canadian soccer, the players and their families put the effort in. Entities like League One Ontario are still growing, but also showing why they are a needed step in showcasing and developing players, and the pro teams have shown effort but still need grow and more importantly become smarter and find competitive advantages. This is also true with soccer at a youth level where I feel clubs need to bring in more experienced coaches, even affiliating themselves with successful European Academies. While lastly, the CSA needs to be accountable on every front. There will be a lot of money made from the upcoming Women's World Cup and if this money is not used in the right way, or soccer in Canada doesn't become smarter, we will lose this potential. Instead of being an unwanted part of the American system, we could become independent and control our own soccer destiny – which will be the ultimate step forward for the sport in Canada.

For More USL Pro, MLS, NASL, L1O, a College articles by myself at – www.rednationonline.ca

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

NASL 2014 DEPTH CHART & PLAYER STATISTICS

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

2014 NASL TOP 25 PROSPECT HANDBOOK

BY: AARON NIELSEN (@ENBSPORTS)

GAFFER & HOOLIGAN & EUROPEAN PODCAST

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